What it is to me.....

The War in Iraq

There hasn't been a single day since March 2003, in which the people of the United States have not been bombarded with information from the media on the war in Iraq. And though they claim to report from an unbiased platform, it becomes increasingly more difficult to find reports which do not, in some way, attempt to sway the American people either for or against this war. Take into consideration that the average American believes a large percentage of what is either on TV or the Internet, and now we have a nation of people who form their opinions based solely on biased reporting. As the wife of a Marine, my views on this war have been formed on an altogether different set of criteria.

Initially, the war was the period of time I went without seeing my husband. It was a glass of wine, a letter a night and endless tears. However, once I discovered our Unit’s need for Family Readiness volunteers, it became an opportunity to help others; to focus on something more constructive than my own pain. The war became a series of answers about deployment, benefits, legal issues, dates, and shipping regulations; a phone call from a concerned mom on how best to get money to her son or an email from an emotional wife about the small things that overwhelm us when we’re alone. And from there it expanded into Predeployment meetings, quarterly news letters, briefings with the CO & NCO’s and Return & Reunions.

When my husband returned home, the war became more real. No longer was it about what I had to do without, but what he had endured. It was listening a lot and questioning very carefully. The war had become the small lines around his eyes and the weary look deep inside them. It was the bonds of friendship, the pain of loss and everything in between that went unsaid. The war had come home and was now an occupying force in our small, Midwest home.

A few years and another deployment later; this war remains in the forefront of my thoughts. But when I watch the news or read an article about it, I have a difficult time applying the information to what I have experienced. For me, this war has never been political; never about oil, Republican vs. Democrat, capital gains, or even a question of right and wrong. The war in Iraq simply is and will continue to be an evolving entity in my life, both personally and professionally. Only now the focus is a little broader than before.

Today, the war in Iraq is about creating training programs for my managers so they can supervise employees who have experienced combat stress. It’s about communicating with coworkers who are veterans, getting to knowing them and understanding what they need to function in a civilian position. And more importantly, it’s about what I can do to support those who have given so much of themselves for our country.

April 14, 2010
Writing sample submitted with my application to the CIA
(one of 600 rejected government applications)